Filed under: On Two Wheels

Yamaha recently filed a patent in the United States for an enduro motorcycle with a continuously variable transmission. The CVT, as it's better known, is one of the most efficient means of transferring power in an automobile application. Yamaha, as well as nearly every other manufacturer of modern scooters, already uses simple CVT transmissions in its line of small-bore scooters, but the gearless transmissions have yet to make an appearance for off-road applications. While the inherent efficiency of the design is one reason we are interested, we also imagine that the single cylinder engine design used by nearly every off-road motorcycle would be well suited to the CVT's strengths. New riders would likely appreciate the ease at which the machine would operate, as no gear lever or traditional handlebar-mounted clutch lever would be necessary to access the smooth and steady acceleration. While durability could be a potential concern, we're looking forward to seeing what the tuning fork company is able to work up.

[Source: Gizmag]

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Precision Wind, LLC of Las Cruces, New Mexico unveiled its Wind Resource Management Suite™ at the WINDPOWER 2008 Conference and Exhibition, North America’s largest wind energy event organized by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). (more…)

Filed under: Green Daily, Automotive X-Prize

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg at the official start of the Auto X Prize.

Once all of the designers and teams get their ducks in a row and prep their vehicles for the cross-country portion of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize in 2009 and 2010, they're going to need places to go. For now, all we know is that the route will start in New York City in September 2009 and end in, well, somewhere in California I'm guessing. The X Prize organizers announced yesterday that "interest is high" in hosting some of the events in between the coasts, and listed 14 cities that have said they'd like to host a stage race: Albuquerque, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Denver, Indianapolis, New York, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle and St. Louis.

The stage races will take place over (likely) ten stops and each "will feature a driving competition over city, suburban and rural roads between 30 and 200 miles in length." The races will show that the 100 mpge cars can achieve their numbers under real-world conditions.

Another new tidbit: there are now 94 teams that want to participate in the competition. Seems likely that we'll have over 100 by the time the application deadline hits at the end of the summer.

[Source: X PRIZE Foundation]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, Green Daily, Lightweight, USA

An enterprising man in New York has managed to build an electric motorcycle which he's referring to as the Battery Box. This term comes from the design of the frame, which is just large enough to house the battery components and is built from aluminum for minimal weight. The batteries are a lithium polymer chemistry and offer 48 volts with 40 amp hours of power. Based on the voltage, we assume that the two electric motors are DC. One motor is hub mounted at the rear and provides 6kW of power while an additional, smaller 3kW motor adds some additional acceleration when called upon.

Front forks from an Italian moped contribute to the Battery Box Motorcycle's light weight. The builder claims that this bike represents his first design and a second, more refined machine will be offered for sale for an expected price of $8,000. Check out the video after the break for some more information. Thanks for the tip, Mark!

[Source: Battery Box Motorcycle]

Continue reading DIY electric motorcycle from New York

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Filed under: Diesel, On Two Wheels, Germany

The awesomeness that is the turbo diesel-powered Neander monster-cycle has now received the regulatory blessings of the proper authorities in the Bundesrepublik Deutschland and is finally heading for production this fall. If you'll notice in the photo above, the beast-in-question is completely surrounded by Polizei and yet none are reaching for handcuffs, tickets books or other constabulary paraphernalia. Ok, that one guy on the left looks like he's unsnapping his holster but we have it on good authority that he was merely reaching for a stick of gum.

According to the folks at Neander, zealous officials from the TÜV pored over every mechanical and structural detail, from the never-before-seen fork design to the physics-defying wheelbase before giving it their seal of approval and bowing down in awe. Despite all this, company chairman of the board, Lutz W. Lester, put his own backside on the line and drove the machine with counter-rotating crankshafts for as many kilometers as was necessary to ensure the handling and comfort was at the top-notch level it needed to be at. It was.

[Source: Neander]

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Filed under: MPG, Legislation and Policy, USA

Though BMW was the first automaker to contact the Bush Administration with concerns about the latest CAFE rules, it didn't take long for more to speak up. As represented by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the Detroit 3, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and others have banded together to proclaim the demands too harsh. Especially considering the current state of automotive affairs, the Alliance alleges that it will be too costly to either meet the goals set out in the latest CAFE standards or face the fines for not meeting them. It is certainly true that most automakers are finding it tough to sell vehicles in these days of turbulent fuel prices and a damaged economy in the U.S.

Eighty-percent of the auto market in the states is represented by the Auto Alliances members, so the issues presented by the groups are sure to be taken seriously. With other groups, including Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, wanting to actually increase the CAFE requirements even further, the auto manufacturers seem to have their work cut out for them.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Green Daily

If you missed the story of this 1981 Ford Fairmont EV, click here.

Portland General Electric is gearing up to move Oregon into the plug-in vehicle future. The utility will be installing a dozen charging stations for EVs in Portland and Salem in the next two months. Sure, that might not seem like a lot, but this is just the demonstration part of the project; the utility is laying the foundation for mass adoption of plug-in vehicles in the next two to five years. An ambitious timeline? Sure, but that's what we need right now and public charging stations are vital to allowing people who don't have a garage at home to fill up their new electric cars.

Back in May, PGE got approval from the Oregon Public Utility Commission to install a lot of smart meters (850,000, to be exact) in people's homes. For the public vehicle chargers, PGE is working with ODOT to install the devices and let people know what they are. The Daily Journal of Commerce claims that there are already 400 EVs registered in Oregon.

[Source: Daily Journal of Commerce]

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If you’re trying to impress people with your carbon footprint, you may not want to flaunt your phone unless it’s made by Sony or Sony Ericsson. Those are the only electronics makers that scored above 5/10 in the latest edition of Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics….

Filed under: Etc., Manufacturing/Plants

In a particularly bleak sales month in June, there were some surprising numbers hidden deep in the sales reports. A month ago, sales of small cars like the Honda Civic, Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla all had record sales. All three of those cars had major drops in June, even though gas prices continued to rise above $4 a gallon. The main reason sales of those and other cars - including hybrids - dropped is that there simply aren't enough available. In general, car dealers try to keep about a 60-day supply of each model they sell in stock. That gives a buffer against supply interruptions and moderate increases in sales as well as providing a reasonable selection of option and color combinations for consumers.

Through April and May, sales of small cars were so strong that inventories of small cars were almost completely depleted. By the end of June, Toyota only had a 15-day supply of Corollas and 7-days worth of Yaris models. On the hybrid front, Toyota had essentially no Priuses or Camry hybrids in stock anywhere. At the beginning of June, (end of June figures aren't yet available) Ford had only a 24-day supply of Focuses while Honda had a 20-day supply of Civics. Automakers are scrambling right now to shift production capacity with Ford adding a third shift to the current Focus assembly plant while working on shifting the Explorer plant to Focus production. Toyota is also adding capacity for Camrys at its Princeton, Indiana plant and Honda is surely looking for more Civics as well.

[Source: Reuters]

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Filed under: Gadgets and Tech, Climate Change

Then listen up: Timberland (yep, the bootmakers) wants you to make a video about what you're doing to save the Earth. There are only a few rules: keep it under three minutes, include Timberland's green logo, and send it in by July 26.

The challenge is part of Timberland's "Earthkeepers" movement. Yes, the name is a little hokey, but hear them out: Tim officials agree that they're contributing to pollution by producing their shoes and clothes. They made up their minds that they wanted to be part of the solution, not the problem, and want to remind customers that we "vote at the cash register" when we choose what products to buy.

So, the company began producing boots made from recycled products, and expanded the Earthkeepers idea to include people changing their lifestyles in small ways to help the earth.

Now back to the contest: the first round of videos will be judged by Timberland, and you could potentially win $300 worth of Timberland stuff, and use the money to buy a pair of leather boots (okay, kidding about the boots). The next round is judged by the general public, and you'll be able to vote on the videos here.

They took the idea and expanded it. Join them in "earthkeeping" - just an honest, earnest attempt for people to make their world better. carpooling/biking to work, heating your house more efficiently, turning off lights when you leave the room.

 

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